The same could be said about use of the term “local control” in relation to education policy. An appeal to “local control” is thrown around at the state Capitol nearly every time education legislation is proposed. Over the last few years, I have worked with other legislators to improve our state’s anti-bullying statute. But efforts…

Sen. David Holt, who sponsored such legislation for Oklahoma, said he was partly inspired by Won’t Back Down. But whatever the film’s merits as entertainment, its rosy portrait of parent triggers mask major problems with the idea. Under his proposal, if a school is given a D or an F on the state’s A-F rating…

The bill only applies to schools that have received from the state Education Department a D or an F for the last two years or a D or an F for two of the last three years, provided the most recent grade was a D or an F. In those schools — where everything else…

Janet Barresi Credit: Mark Hancock The study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that inflation-adjusted per-pupil spending in the state decreased 20.3 percent from fiscal years 2008 to 2013. Alabama was second from the bottom, and Arizona had the biggest decrease. The study found Oklahoma spends $706 less per student now than…

Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal in \”Won\’t Back Down\” California, Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana have already passed such laws. Groups that write model legislation, such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), have drafted model bills for legislators to introduce in their home states. Parent trigger laws allow for dramatic changes at a school if…